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This is a promotional post.
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review

Perfume world tour 3rd review New York

Perfume 3rd world tour has now ended for this time. What a tour! Bigger and better than last year, and the tour visited the US on two occations. This year’s tour started in Taiwan, then moved on to Singapore. After that, for the first time, the girl group played it’s first of two shows in America. The first show was in LA, and then they flew over to London to give a great show for all their European fans. After that the J-pop group were back in the US for the last show, which was on Saturday 15th November.

We didn’t get the chance to attend the New York show, but we are very happy that we now have a full review for you all, thanks to Perfume fan Jerry that was at the NYC show. Enjoy the review below:

About World Tour 3rd in NYC

So I attended the show in NYC. I must say that the stage in UK seemed much better.

People were lining up for the show the night before. I was there in the early afternoon to find out lots of people standing in front of me. While we were waiting endlessly, people started to play songs and dance together. All of us enjoyed very much.

One thing to point out that most people were not from NYC. They’re from other states or other countries. We spoke different languages and shared our experiences. It’s very fun.

Some staff from Hammerstein were quite mean to us. They even yelled at Perfume’s staffs for giving them lots of troubles. Maybe it’s due to language barrier?

Even I stayed in the line way earlier than the ones behind us, people began to push and rush towards the front of the stage. However, we’re not angry or anything. It’s because of Perfume. It didn’t really matter that much about where to stand or sit. Anyway, I still managed to stand in the front few lines to see them three. They looked gorgeous!

Feelings

General admission was kind of challenging to us. People kept pushing others all the time. It’s hard to jump as everyone was too close together. The music was amazingly powerful from where I stood, but my ears slightly suffered after the show. It took some time to recover. I’m an old fan of Perfume for years. I need to say that they are very charming on the stage. You never get tired of them.

Photos, rules, and others

NYC was the last stop of the tour, so they didn’t stop people from taking photos and recording videos. Many people used flash lights. Very annoying! Also, some people brought light sticks (which was inappropriate for a Perfume’s show). People didn’t listen to announcements. They just did what they wanted. I followed the rules and only managed to take a few photos before and after the show.

Audience

Every show is an unique experience. This one as well.
People around me were sort of weird. Some of them didn’t dance or move at all. Many boy/girlfriends came together for the show. They were just hugging and kissing each other. Did not really pay attention to the show at all. They made me unhappy. What’s the point for coming to the show and do these things (do them at home, okay)?!

A guy next to me was crying all the time. He said he couldn’t believe that his dream came true (Perfume coming to America).

After the show

Hammerstein was not at all a hot place. A few Japanese brought towels, but they didn’t have a chance to use them.

Many people decided to buy goods after the show, which ended up with a chaotic situation. I didn’t even get the opportunity to buy anything. As I stepped out of the door, several people were selling Perfume’s poster, which to be honest, we could print them out ourselves at home with a better quality. Some were still willing to pay 5 dollars for 1 poster.

Before and after the show, I received lots of free Perfume gifts (cards, hand-held fan, mini-posters). I also got free pizza, chocolates, french fries, coffee, energy drinks, sandwiches. People were really nice to everyone in the line.

Last but not least, we could say hi to cameras. And they said they were from Japan. Maybe it’s NHK, who would be making a special program talking about Perfume US debut?

I have lots to share, but I cut it off here as I’m writing too much.

Thank you. And wish that they will do another world tour in the near future!

Why So Japan like to thank Jerry for this great review from the NYC show.

Perfume 3rd world tour

Perfume were back with their 2nd show in London a few of days ago. The Japanese j-pop trio played at the Apollo theatre in Hammersmith this time. Doors opened at 19:00 and we got there at around 19:15 to join the massive queue of Perfume fans waiting to get in. The line seemed to move very quickly, and before we knew it we had got our tickets scanned by the Apollo staff, and we were in.

Merchandise

First we we headed to the merchandise stand on the ground floor, but we had no chance to get close as there were so many people trying to get a hold some Perfume goods. Instead we headed upstairs where we found another merchandise stall. It was less crowed, so we managed to picked up one of the CDs for sale, for around £10. They were also selling t-shirts, photo books, DVDs and a lot more.

Before the show

After buying the CD we wanted, we headed into the theatre to find our seats. We sat on the balcony quite close to the front, and we had a great view of the stage. We weren’t sure when the show was to start, because it wasn’t stated on the ticket, but around 20:15 a voice started talking in English and Japanese, saying that the show was soon to start. While waiting, a member of the Apollo staff was going around informing everyone that no photos or video recording was allowed. We did manage to take a few pictures anyway, but not many.

The theatre looked almost full from where we were sitting. There was a great buzz in the air for the upcoming show, the lights went down and the show began.

The show

Once the trio appeared on stage, the crowd went wild. The girls started off with a few songs in a row, and then took a minute to talk to the crowd and introduce themselves. The girls really know how to talk to and involve the public, even though English is not their native language. You could hear they tried their very best to speak English, which was fun for those that didn’t understand Japanese. They took it in turn to speak in English, it was very endearing.

After the chat with the crowd it was back to the music. They played so many great songs, it would be hard to single one out. One song thought that I wasn’t expecting to hear was One Room Disco, since I didn’t see it on the BluRay from last year’s concert, making me think that maybe the song was too old to play. I guess they mixed the playlist up to make the playlist unique and different from last year’s, which was great since I got to see and hear one of my favourite songs. The only song I would have liked to have seen that they didn’t perform was Fake It. It seems we got treated to a different encore song from the other show, I heard LA got Fake It. But that’s one way of keeping each show unique, I guess.

After a few more songs, it was back to talking to the public again. This time we got to hear about the girls’ experience here in London, and their problem with the sun visor in a car. The story was translated with the help of a guy from the audience. One thing we understood was that the story being told was not really given justice by the guy translating, since people that understood Japanese found it a lot more funny than the translated version, but I’m guessing it wasn’t easy for him to translate the story in a comedy way.

This year’s show was a big improvement from last year’s. The lighting and projection production of the show was amazing. The show involved moving scenary on stage, lots of projection onto white blocks placed all over the stage, a giant screen behind the girls, light sticks and lazer lighting in different coulors. Compared to last year’s show where they just used a green laser. Even with out the girls on stage, all the visuals were a show on it’s own.

The show continued with more music and some crowd involvement in the PTA corner, where the girls got the public involved by dividing us up into different sections and and getting us to chant different things, which the crowd had lots of fun with. Another part of one of the chatting sections was when the girls were asking which is the best coffee shop in the UK. There was also a talk about pubs. I’m sure it would be a fun and different experience if Perfume were to walk into a normal British pub for a pint after the show.

After the show

We left the theatre both agreeing that it was a brilliant show and we would love to see them in London again soon. I really hope they release this tour on BluRay, like they did with the previous tour, so I can re-live the show again.

If I thought I was a fan of Perfume before I saw the show, I’m even a bigger fan after. The girls gave an amazing show and left us wanting more. Still, a few days after the show, I can’t stop thinking about it. Seems silly to say that a concert was an experience, but that’s how it sort of feels in a fun way. At the moment it feels like we have Perfume playing 24/7 at home and I’ve now found myself loving older songs by Perfume that I did not really like before. After seeing them songs live I’ve got hook on them now.

Have you been to see Perfume on this world tour? If so, let us know which show you went to, and what you thought!

I would also like to say a big thanks to one of the user: Timmy_Magic on the Perume fan page (http://www.perfume-city.com) for kindly supplying us with a lot of the photos in this review.

Kawaii! Japan’s Culture of Cute book review

Kawaii! Japan’s Culture of Cute is an in-depth book about the history of Kawaii in Japan. The book describes how kawaii has grown and become more and more popular in Japan and gives you a guide to all things kawaii, from the past and all the way to the present day. If its kawaii, you most probably will find it in Kawaii! Japan’s Culture of Cute. The book is written by Manami Okazaki and Geoff Johnson and was first published 2013 and the book is printed in English with tons of high quality pictures.

Manami Okazaki

Manami Okazaki is a freelance journalist and is author of several books, one of them of course being Kawaii! Japan’s Culture of Cute. Other books that she has released are Kokeshi, From Tohoku with Love, Tattoo in Japan, Japanese Buddhism, Kicks Japan and her new book Toy Tokyo, which is to be released in May of 2014. She has freelanced for the Japan times, CNN Traveler, Time Out, and other publications across the world. Her freelanced works often focus on Japanese traditional culture, pop culture, food and style. Check out the video at the bottom of this post, where Manami talks about the book.

Geoff Johnson

Geoff Johnson is an Australian guy who has based in Tokyo since 1989 and works as a professional photographer. Geoff Johnson photos have been published all over the world. His photos normally portray Japan in one way or another. He is the photographer for this book. Geoff has been published in travel magazines and newspapers all over the world, like Harpar’s Bazaar Japan, Esquire Japan, the Sunday Travel in the UK and New York Times. He has also worked on adverting for Adidas and Apple in the past.

About the book

Kawaii! Japan’s Culture of Cute takes you on a detailed trip through the world of kawaii, sharing with you a lot of the kawaii history. The book starts off with talking about the roots of kawaii, showing some pictures of what was concidered kawaii then. The book then goes into what kawaii exactly is and what makes something kawaii. The book continues on to show rich pictures of different as aspects of kawaii.

The book goes in to great detail to describe and show kawaii in its very many and different forms, like the clothes that are conceded to hold a Kawaii feeling (conomi, lolita, gothic lolita, Harajuku fashion and of course cosplay too).

The book also focuses on the characters of Kawaii. Its got many pages dedicated to the characters and the companies behind them. Like San-X for example. Theyre the company behind Rilakumma, Sentimental Circus and more – and when we say more, we mean more. It is said that San-X has created over 800 different characters over its time. In the book we can also find pages on Glommy Bear, Swimmer, Hello Kitty and more.

Other aspects in the book focuses on is food. Yes, even food can have a kawaii theme to it. The book has some great photos of the typical bento boxes and it goes into the maid culture in Japan too. The book also goes into the more elegant side of kawaii with showing art work from John Hathway, Chikuwaemil and Yosuke Ueno.

The book has a great and cute map over the area of Harajuku in Tokyo, where you can find almost anything that is connected to Kawaii. One of the shops that is dedicated to to Kawaii and is featured in the book is 6% DOKIDOKI, a great little shop to visit if youre in Harajuku and you like kawaii.

The book seems to cover everything that is kawaii. There are lots of things in the book that I never would have though would have anything to do with kawaii. I found the book to be a great read. It has lots of very colourful photos from the first page to the last, and I found it to be the right mixture of text too. So even if your a person that does not like to read much you will still find this book great by just browsing all the photos in it.

I think the best way to describe this book in one word would just be it’s very “kawaii”. This 226 paged book is well worth a buy if you love all thing kawaii.

Our book was bought from Bookdepository.com for around £15. The book is also available on other sites, like Amazon.

Mameshiba Love Winter

The second book to be released by Viz media featuring the Mameshibas was Mameshiba Love Winter. The book was first released in November of 2011, which at the time made it the perfect Christmas present for me to give to a loved one. The book was bought from the UK, from Amazon if I remember correctly. I’ve noticed that Amazon still have it for sale. Follow this link for more info (amazon.co.uk). When I bought the book it wasn’t very expensive at all, and with buying it from the UK and Amazon, it was fast delivered and in time to be given away as a present on Christmas day that year.

Mameshiba Love Winter is a hardback book that consists of around 12 pages or so. This book is very different from the first book. The first book was more about getting to know the Mameshibas. On the very first page of the book is an envelope that says to be very special. Inside the envelope your find some cardboard cutouts on your favourite Mameshibas, and a selection of winter themed stickers. Now you might wonder what all of they are for. Well, if you go to the last page of the book, a winter castle will pop out of the book, allowing you to place them around the castle and cover them with stickers.

The story to this book is all about the Mameshibas’ day, playing out in the snow, and while some of the Mameshibas are playing around in the snow with their sledges and snow balls, the others decide that they need to make a castle, but not any sort of castle – a snow castle. Through this short story you get see them design and build their castle to the end, where the castle becomes a popup book. That’s where the story ends and your own imagination begins.

The book is a another great way of getting children that might not be aware of Mameshiba into them. The book has nice pictures and even if its a bit short, it is still fun to read and even if you dont use the castle at the end of the book, it still makes it a great addition to your Mameshiba collection.